Vanguard | Vanguard II
Launch Complex 18A
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
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US Navy
The Navy was competed with the Army to put the first American satellite into orbit. Their first two Vanguard missions failed, with the second being a highly publicized failure, as it exploded on the launchpad. They went on to put 3 satellites into orbit but did not beat the Army to be the first. Their work in space continues today largely on military satellites.
Vanguard II
Vanguard II is an Earth orbiting satellite and the first weather satellite. It was designed to measure cloud-cover distribution over the daylight portion of its orbit for a period of 19 days and to provide information on the density of the atmosphere.
Vanguard
Height 23.00 Meters
Max Stages 3
Mass To GTO 0 kg
Liftoff Thrust 123 kN
Diameter 1.14 Meters
Mass To LEO 9 kg
Liftoff Mass 10 Tonnes
Launch Success 3
Consecutive Success 1
Maiden Flight 1957-10-23
Launch Failures 8
